Rosengård Women have been one of the most iconic Swedish teams since 1970. They have won the Damallsvenskan 13 times so far, with their first league title in 1986 and their latest one in the 2022 season.
Although the team’s results were poor in 2023 when they finished the season holding the seventh spot, Rosengård were finally able to maintain a long winning streak during the first part of this season with 10 convincing wins so far. This winning streak made them rank at the top of the league so far, seven points ahead of second, BK Häcken.
It is also fair to say that Rosengård’s European participation record in the UEFA Women’s Champions League has been long enough. No one can deny that Rosengård has traditions in this competition, with 13 participations so far. The biggest achievement was reaching the semi-finals in the 2003–2004 edition. Rosengård were also able to reach the quarter-finals in 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 against Barcelona and finally in 2020/21 against Bayern Munich.
That being said, Rosengård failed on numerous occasions to qualify from the group stage and were able to reach the Round of 16 on other occasions, with their most notable played Round of 16 taking place in 2017/18 against Chelsea.
This tactical analysis will, therefore, explore what changed in terms of tactics from last season to the current one under Joel Kjetselberg and how Rosengård have improved their performances compared to last season, and what is making the difference for Rosengård this season. The analysis will also aim to identify the team’s mistakes during this season and what they will need to avoid in order to finish the season at the top of the Damallsvenskan.
Build-up and key passing improvements
During last season, Rosengård’s build-up used to be very slow and lacked creative and direct vertical passing. This made it more complicated for them to reach the opposing penalty box so often per game and, therefore, resulted in fewer scored goals per season.
Loaning a midfielder like Momoko Tanikawa from Bayern Munich has been helping Rosengård a lot this season from this perspective, as the Japanese player added a lot of dynamism to Rosengård’s midfield. With her excellent ball carries and accelerations, in addition to her accurate passes, she has contributed extensively to the team’s goals so far, and this example shows one of her most recent contributions.
Tanikawa had the ball in midfield and was able to get past two opponents thanks to a key vertical pass between both of them before continuing her run and playing multiple one-two combinations to reach the box and be able to score following the goalkeeper’s save to Olivia Holdt’s shot.
In addition to improving their passing abilities and making their build-up quicker, Rosengård worked a lot on crosses from the wings and on early crosses to make them more dangerous and be able to score more goals using this solution. This means that head coach Joel Kjetselberg worked a lot with the players on headers and on how to avoid marking and move without the ball inside the box in order to have more chances to touch the ball before defenders.
This example shows one of the successful actions during which Rosengård were able to convert a cross into a goal thanks to the great movement without the ball of the goalscorer and her ability to jump higher than her opponent with a decisive and powerful header.
High pressing, improved finishing and varied attacking plans
One thing that we noticed regarding Rosengård’s attacking phase is the variety that the team is actually showing in their goal actions this season. With players like Olivia Holdt becoming very crucial and useful in the team’s attacking three, we saw the team playing with less pressure upfront and dealing with complicated situations with ease and great decision-making.
Rosengård’s high pressing has been executed with a lot of intelligence this season, as the players’ movements have been calculated in a way that obliges the opponent to fall into the trap of thinking that Rosengård’s players will not be able to intercept the pass. Yet, the gaps left by Rosengård’s players when applying the high pressing are left on purpose to make the opponent think that the pass is possible. At that moment, Rosengård’s concerned players would automatically attack the pass trajectory and intercept the ball while launching a dangerous counter-attack.
This type of pressing was fruitful on numerous occasions for Rosengård, and it helped them find a solution when facing tough defences. This example shows one of the times when Holdt was able to make the goalkeeper think that it would be okay to pass the ball to the player in the middle. She waited until the goalkeeper was about to pass it and automatically went to intercept the ball successfully and score a goal.
Moreover, it is important to note that the team has been playing with a lot more confidence than last season, as the initial wins allowed them to work with less tension and, therefore, be able to show their abilities in an extensive way. This led to finding more chemistry between the players, especially inside the final third, as Mai Kadowaki, Sofie Bredgaard, and Holdt developed a lot more understanding of each other’s styles. Added to that, Tanikawa and the veteran Caroline Seger’s midfield contribution should not be underestimated as both players provide a lot of added value to this team, especially in terms of passing.
This goal example highlights the team’s confidence in their abilities as both the assist and the goal were executed with remarkable cold blood despite the complexity of both actions. The pass was provided with the exterior part of the foot from Olivia Schough following a simple control of the ball without overcomplicating things. And then Holdt was able to finish the action with success with a single touch, shooting the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs.
Defensive weaknesses and possible improvements
Despite all of the improvements happening in the attacking phase and the fact that Rosengård got back to their winning ways and are leading the Damallsvenskan, a lot of work is still needed from the defensive perspective in order to consolidate their league lead and, most importantly to be able to challenge seriously against the top teams in the UWCL next season.
In order to do that, Rosengård must avoid a lot of collective and individual mistakes in defence and work on eliminating them. The team actually concede more than 10 shots per game and are failing to reduce this number in the league. Keeping in mind that things can be much more dangerous in the UWCL is essential to be able to improve the team’s actual defensive performances.
Knowing that Rosengård played in the UWCL this season and finished on the fourth place in the group stage with disappointing results and heavy losses against Barcelona and Eintracht Frankfurt, a lot of defensive issues were seen during these games as Rosengård conceded a lot of goals that could have been avoided.
The following conceded goal against Eintracht Frankfurt highlights the team’s midfield struggles when trying to protect the ball and continue the build-up from the middle. It would be much more secure to opt for the flanks when opponents apply pressing in the middle. Midfielders should avoid getting in complicated situations and try to get past two or more opponents when knowing that losing the ball in that area can lead to devastating counter-attacks.
Moreover, this action showed that the goalkeeper have to be much more focused and know when to remain on the goal line and when she can get out to make critical interventions. We are saying this because Eintracht Frankfurt’s players were able to exploit the fact that the goalkeeper was advanced to opt for a lob shot and score it.
Also, leaving gaps in defence during crosses or set pieces is an aspect that needs a lot more attention from Joel Kjetselberg. Things often get out of control in the defensive line, especially when facing opponents with quick attacking players. The following action against Barcelona highlights the poor marking of Salma Paralluelo. She was left free from marking between two defenders and was able to score. In such actions, applying tight marking to all players inside the box is necessary.
Working on committing way fewer individual mistakes in defence can also help Rosengård a lot, especially in terms of mistakes that automatically lead to goals. This example shows how an individual mistake in defence can destroy a whole game and make things easier for the opponent. Rosengård had a chance to challenge Barcelona as they were the hosts in this match and had the opportunity to perform at their best to try getting a positive result. However, a single individual mistake killed Rosengård’s ambitions and paved the way for Barcelona to win the game, knowing that the mistake was a clearance attempt of a cross from the right wing, which eventually turned into an own goal.
Conclusion
Rosengård must build on their excellent run of form in the league and preserve what is going well while improving what needs a lot of work, mainly in the defensive phase. Learning from their UWCL failure this season can also help them get back stronger next season in the UWCL especially if they succeed in winning the title of the Damallsvenskan this season to have the confidence and chemistry needed to battle the European giants.
Moreover, consolidating the squad with a few talents and perhaps some experienced players in defence can make things even better for Rosengård next season in the UWCL.
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